Paul Ryan, Donald Trump meet in D.C.; say goal is to defeat Clinton

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump met in Washington, D.C., today in an effort to unify the party ahead of the Republican National Convention and the fall campaign.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said the meeting went "great."

Ryan caused a stir last week when he said he wasn't ready to support Trump. As speaker, Ryan is the highest ranking Republican in the federal government and by tradition the chair of the convention.

After the meeting, Trump and Ryan issued the following statement:

"The United States cannot afford another four years of the Obama White House, which is what Hillary Clinton represents. That is why it's critical that Republicans unite around our shared principles, advance a conservative agenda, and do all we can to win this fall," Trump and Ryan said.

"With that focus, we had a great conversation this morning. While we were honest about our few differences, we recognize that there are also many important areas of common ground. We will be having additional discussions, but remain confident there's a great opportunity to unify our party and win this fall, and we are totally committed to working together to achieve that goal. We are extremely proud of the fact that many millions of new voters have entered the primary system, far more than ever before in the Republican Party's history. This was our first meeting, but it was a very positive step toward unification."

Our Washington reporter Jack Torry is reporting that Sen. Rob Portman joined about a dozen Senate Republicans this morning in a meeting with Trump. The meeting is scheduled between Trump and the Senate GOP leadership and while Portman is not in leadership, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked him to attend.

Portman is in a tight re-election fight with former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.